With PSN still down, hackers return Linux to the PlayStation 3

Sony is still struggling to return the PlayStation Network functionality to …

It all began when a young man named George Hotz began to work on the PlayStation 3, trying to gain access to the machine in a way that made Sony uncomfortable. In response, Sony removed the OtherOS functionality of the PlayStation 3 in a mandatory update, and the hacking community was not happy with this decision, resulting in a sort of cold war. PS3 hackers have once again gained the upper hand: Linux has been returned to the PlayStation 3.

There are a few limitations in terms of the models you can use to access this new custom firmware, but now you'll be able to use Linux with the full support of the hardware, without Sony setting up arbitrary barriers. Here are the features supported:

Support for ps3-utils. You can flash new OtherOS bootloader from Linux e.g.

Enabling Linux support is not an easy process, and it's certainly not optimized for people who aren't already well-versed in this sort of thing, but it's out, it's freely available, and it improves on the original implementation of the OtherOS functionality.

Sony is still bleeding from its wounds, and this is just twisting the knife in a little deeper. A quote at the top of the page, directed at Sony, sums it up: "My hardware, my rules. I brought back what you took away."